apologies- this is long.

My best friend is convinced (by his ex girlfriend) that he is a psychopath, and has since confided in me. i keep explaining that yes, to some degree he does fit the criteria, but so does every one (to some degree) but to be a psychopath, the "fit" of the criteria has to be taken to much, MUCH more of an extreme.
to my knowledge, he doesnt harm animals.

this is what he basically tells me that is his "evidence":
He is aggressive and manipulative, (his example of manipulative: he cons his friends into placing bets on video games that he knows he will win), he always got citations in highschool, was constantly getting in trouble while we were abroad together (ex: once because he was dared to do something that put his life in danger), aka impulsive, says he never feels guilty about manipulating people to get his way, he drinks every day to cope with the thought of this. he also says he doesnt seem to care about anyone and doesnt feel bad manipulating them. i told him he clearly cares about me, as he has helped me through a lot in the past, and he said i was such a nice person that he could never manipulate me in the way he does others and that it is hard not to care about me because of that. i told him that that was a sign right there that he wasnt, but he isnt taking no for an answer. he is CONVINCED. this evidence seems a bit weak when i type it out...in context there is more of a correlation, i will admit. however, i do not think he is a psychopath. i think he just is making himself fit via the "medical student's disease". im sure if his ex had said he was bipolar, he would be stressing about that. its not like he does dangerous things on a weekly basis, he is in college, and i dont see that he acts psychopathically different than most other college students. i think that there could possibly be some type of underlying disorder, but he cant fix it unless he gets help !


i see a psychiatrist for my own stuff, which is why i think he felt comfortable talking to me about this. i told him to go see one too, but he is so stubborn i cant get him to consider it. i know that in order for someone to really be helped they have to want it, but i really feel like he trusts me enough that i can convince him, especially with my educational background in neuroscience and my own experiences.


i guess i need advice on how to handle this, maybe some things i could say to help bring him to the side of getting help.